Tom Olmstead of Basin announces campaign for WY Senate District 20

Tom Olmstead, a Republican, has announced his intent to run for the District 20 seat in the Wyoming Senate. The district, which encompasses Washakie, Hot Springs and parts of Big Horn, Park and Fremont counties, is now represented by Ed Cooper, a Republican from Ten Sleep.
Olmstead, his wife of 20 years and their two sons reside in Basin. “Unfortunately, in 2021 due to COVID mandates, I lost my 25-year aviation career, so fighting back against government overreach is a big reason I’m running,” he said in a prepared statement. “I am what most people would consider a very conservative Republican and looking at the current state of the Wyoming legislature, I know we can do better for this district.”
Olmstead said the current Wyoming Legislature has not properly addressed a long list of important issues. “Land policies, parental rights and radical environmentalism, to our massive property tax burden and this relentless woke liberal agenda, Wyoming conservatives deserve representation that reflects our true principles,” he said. “The gridlock stems from a large portion of our legislature voting as though there is a liberal majority in this state, and until we replace these RINOs (Republican In Name Only) with strong conservatives that reflect our morals and principles we will never pass any meaningful legislation.
“I would sponsor solid legislation preventing this insane hormone therapy and medical mutilation of our children anywhere in the state of Wyoming. We also continue to fund this leftist social engineering in our higher education, while little support is given to our trade schools, apprenticeships, and blue-collar industries. Jobs in HVAC, plumbing, electrical, farming and ranching, which are much more meaningful careers in my eyes, are treated as second-class occupations. This needs to stop.”
Continuing, Olmstead called for a hard look at the federal money coming into Wyoming.
“Zero tax dollars should be going to illegal immigrants, and any funding should be going to prevent this foreign invasion of our country,” he said. “The current influx of illegal aliens poses not only an extreme burden on our nation’s infrastructure, but also presents a very real threat to our security and safety as potential terrorists from around the world flood across our borders.
“Additionally, I’m now seeing support from some of our representatives for this radical environmentalism. From environmental social governance (ESG) to this ‘CO2 capturing’ façade, they are pushing these narratives and many others for the sole purpose of gaining federal dollars.
“I say our freedom is not for sale. I’m certainly more of a patriot than a politician, and I’m running for this office because I believe the people of WY SD 20 deserve strong conservative representation. Wyoming is this nation’s best hope for preserving our traditional family values, liberty, and the conservative ideals we hold dear.”
Olmstead’s campaign website can be found at Olmstead4Wyoming.com.
The filing period for the August primary election runs from May 16 through May 31.